Hell is Empty (and all the devils are queer)
by DevinTowerwood
Summary: In the "She's single" version of Before the Storm episode 2, Steph asks Rachel out. Little does she know, she's about to fall into a full-flung romance not only with Rachel, but with the only girl who gets how she feels about her - Chloe Price. Fluff fic with endgame Amberpricerich. 2 chapters.
1. (Not) Fall in Love with You

**Chapter Summary:** After Chloe gives Steph the 'go-ahead' to make a move on Rachel, Steph takes her shot in the changing room before The Tempest. Rachel just asks for a little time to think - just until after the play. What could go wrong in that short of a time, anyway?

* * *

"Yeah, well . . . good luck with all of that. Maybe I'll see you later." Chloe stood, hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket, and turned to go with a small, encouraging smile.

"Oh, hey. I wanted to ask you something."

Steph wanted to keep her cool, but now that the moment of truth was here, she could just feel her mouth go dry. She didn't want to have this conversation - but she needed to.

Chloe slowed, then dropped back onto the bench next to her. With the tiniest shrug, she replied, "Shoot."

Steph had been practicing the script since yesterday, and she already knew it by heart. It came out even though she couldn't focus on the words themselves at this point; "I've been planning to make a move on Rachel, but not if you two were together."

Chloe didn't reply immediately, as typical. She just sort of sat there, her eyes shifting around as she thought without quite making eye contact. It was always like she had some internal monologue going on, and although they hadn't talked much, Steph had already learned to just wait. Not everyone practiced these conversations - it was almost nice that Chloe took the time to take people seriously.

Finally, Chloe re-established eye contact and asked, "Make a move?" It was so flat that it didn't feel like a question.  
She wanted an explanation? Fine.

Steph allowed herself a glance up at the sky, a space to make the words appear in her head, then asked, "So, are you?"

"Uh."

 _That's not a no._

"I mean, that's Rachel's business - or maybe yours and Rachel's business - but if you feel comfortable telling me..."

Chloe's head cocked to the side and she closed her eyes, as if taking the world's longest stunned blink. "You think we're . . . together?"

Steph let out a tiny sigh, but it wasn't hard to offer the pieces of her logic. "You've been hanging out a lot, which I know might not mean anything, but," she shrugged, "I like to be extra careful about these things."

Chloe was staring somewhere off to the side of Steph's head, a faraway look in her eye. Even as she started to reply, it was clear that gears were turning in her head about something. "She's . . . single." There was something in that pause. Doubt? Disappointment? It's not like Steph couldn't sympathize with how these things could get complicated, but she was going to do everything she could to make it un-complicated.

"You sure?" she challenged, quirking her eyebrows.

Chloe glanced even further away. "That's what I said." There was frustration, now. Something had happened to cast that into doubt, maybe, but whatever it was, Chloe sounded resolved on this.

 _Maybe Rachel rejected her? Or vise versa? Once they actually spent time together, they found out that they were incompatible?_

Steph tried her best not to speculate, but that was all she managed to do in the few seconds before Chloe rose from the seat, signaling that the conversation was over. "I'll see you later, Steph," she said, pulling her hands from her pockets.

"Have fun storming the castle," Steph replied dreamily, trying not to get excited about the sliver of opportunity she genuinely hadn't expected to receive. A definitive answer. A go-ahead.

Chloe gave a little wave as she stalked off towards the dorms, and as soon as she was out of sight, Steph afforded herself a grin. She knew that, if things happened as she imagined, Chloe was probably hurting right now, and that honestly didn't make her feel good. But right now, she was too abuzz with the excitement of seeing Rachel soon to be graceful. She should check in with Chloe later, definitely. But right now was Steph's moment.

 **Steph:** hey when are you going to be on-campus? call time?

Rachel replied within seconds.

 **Rachel:** i actually just got here. whats up?

 **Steph:** would you be cool to talk in like, 15? i'm just headed to the stage in a sec

 **Rachel:** ya, totally :) ill see you then

Steph stuffed her things away hurriedly, not even noticing Chloe's antics to get into the dorms, nor Samantha as she tried to grab Steph's attention before she bolted for the school courtyard.

* * *

She found Rachel in the women's changing room, already dressed as Prospera and sitting contemplatively in front of the mirrors. Her eyes darted to the side, and they made eye contact through the mirror's reflection before Steph sat on the desk beside Rachel.

"Hey you," Rachel greeted her warmly, jolting Steph into even twitchier delight.

"Hey Rachel," Steph greeted, self-consciously pulling her beanie back and smoothing her hair.

"What's up?" Rachel asked, turning in her chair to face her straight-on.

"Would it . . . be cool if we had a kind of awkward conversation that you can totally opt out of at any point if you don't like it?"

Rachel looked surprised, but bemused. "That's kind of a scary preamble, but, uh, yeah, totally. Would you mind doing my makeup while we talk, though?"

"Not at all," Steph replied, although the actual idea of touching Rachel's face in very precise ways while she was this overstimulated was frankly terrifying.

Steph knew the odds, of course. She knew that about six in one hundred women in their generation identified as bi or lesbian, and in a class of 90 students (slight majority girls), that meant 3 were likely to be gay. She already knew Rachel and Chloe, and she had either already dated or hated (or both) every queer junior (and most of the seniors, but they were graduating anyway). Liking Rachel was more than just a crush. It was a hope beyond hope to have a normal high school relationship when the odds were completely against her. And of all the queer girls Steph had ever asked out, it had taken her the longest to ask Rachel out precisely because she really, genuinely liked her. They had hung out all year in drama. They had chemistry. She knew they did.

Steph did everything she could to not be terrified at rejection and instead to just be terrified at the prospect of getting through this conversation. She arranged Rachel's makeup while Rachel pinned her hair back. She hesitated to say anything until she started, so that her mind was at least clear enough to not fuck up what makeup she was doing.

"So," Rachel said, eyes closed while Steph worked, "What is this awkward conversation you wanted to have?" There was a smile playing on her lips, but then again, when wasn't there one?

 _Where to begin?_

"So . . . I kinda just had this talk with Chloe. About you . . . and her."

"Oh?" Rachel asked, opening one eye to help convey her curiosity. She closed it again and said, "What did she say?"

"Well," Steph swallowed, then continued, "I asked her if you two were . . . together. And she told me you were single."

Rachel quirked her eyebrows without opening her eyes. "Did she now?"

Steph nodded, though Rachel couldn't see it. "Yeah. I told her that, if there was nothing going on between you two, that I wanted to make a move on you . . . and this is it."

Rachel giggled. Giggling - that's a positive sign, right? She didn't sound uncomfortable, far from it.

Rachel nodded, Steph pausing to make sure she didn't smear anything she wasn't supposed to smear. "Well, alright," Rachel said, a smile growing on her face. "This is a hella meta move you're making, though?"

"Yeah, it's a little meta," Steph replied. Rachel was being playful, and it coaxed her on. Steph felt safe enough to take a larger risk. "But, I guess I'm kind of just a dork like that. It's not always super easy for me to just say, 'I like you, and I'd like to take you out on a date if that'd be cool' even when that's what I mean, so I have to go for a more subtle approach."

"Ah, yes, very subtle." Rachel replied, dead-pan and straight-faced. But the smile she was holding back quickly overwhelmed her, and they both began to laugh. It was a silly, weak way to ask someone out, but if Rachel found it endearing, Steph didn't feel the need to self-deprecate too hard about it.

When things grew quieter again, Steph said gently, "But, for real. I like you. And I'd like to take you out on a date . . . if that'd be cool."

"Steph. You're hella cute." Rachel did the one-eye open again while Steph applied eye shadow on the other side. "And really hot, too. And I want to say 'yes' . . . but-"

Steph's heart sank so fast she almost didn't hear the follow-up.

"- but I've got . . . a lot going on right now, and I could use a little time to figure out what to say."

 _So, 'no, but maybe someday' . . . lovely._

"Could we talk at the cast party tonight?" asked Rachel.

It took Steph a few seconds to put the pieces together, but when she did, she felt a rush of relief. A few hours was nothing. And as much as she'd like to have an answer, and as much as she'd like to be undistracted during the Tempest, she was the one that decided to have shitty timing. There was also the possibility that Rachel was just going to say 'no', and was protecting herself by waiting until after opening night was done and making sure there were other people nearby, but that didn't bother Steph. As fun as dating could be, it's also important to keep yourself safe. There's a part of her that is sad that Rachel has had to learn that so early . . . but on the other hand, Steph couldn't just expect other people to have a smoother life than her all the time. Not even Rachel.

"Of course," Steph replied softly.

"Thank you," Rachel replied, just as quiet. "For that, and for asking me out."

Steph just smiled softly as she worked, the both of them quiet for several minutes.

Eventually, Steph said, "You're gonna kill it tonight."

"Well, I _am_ the stormcaller," Rachel replied glibly.

Steph's phone started to vibrate. She really didn't want to stop what she was doing, stop this quiet moment with Rachel all alone in the changing room, but today was not the day she could ignore her phone.

The call was from Juliet.

 _Steph:_ "Yo?"

 _Juliet:_ "Steph, hey! Look, hey, the wild fire has been spreading and it's cut off the highway into Arcadia Bay. My family's willing to drive around, but there's no way I'm going to be in time for the Tempest."

 _Steph:_ "Shit, seriously? I didn't know it had gotten that bad."

 _Juliet:_ "Yeah, they totally thought they had it contained up until a few hours ago but things are kind of a mess right now. I'm so fucking sorry."

Juliet not showing up basically added up to a disaster. They barely had enough kids in theater to run the minimum of cast and crew, and there were a sorry number of understudies. To make matters worse, Juliet had professed to have the world's most hardcore immune system and that there was no way she would miss a night, so she didn't even have one of the double-or-triple-cast understudies ready. They were absolutely fucked.

 _Steph:_ "We'll figure it out. And I'm really sorry to ask this, but can you make sure you come as soon as possible? I know Mr. Keaton might cancel everything, but if we're going to have any hope of salvaging this . . ."

 _Juliet:_ "Absolutely, I understand. My parents are OK with the risk. I'll be there in, like . . . under two hours."

 _Two hours. What a goddamn nightmare._

Rachel had been staring at Steph, concerned, this whole time, but Steph just kept her back to her and tried to focus. As she became more and more agitated and started looking around as if an answer would just materialize, Rachel came more and more into her view.

 _Steph:_ "Got it. We'll handle it as best we can. I'll see you soon."

 _Juliet:_ "Yeah, bye Steph."

 _Steph:_ "Bye."

"Who was that? Who's missing?" Rachel asked as soon as Steph hung up the phone.

Steph turned around, and her composure was already slipping now that Juliet couldn't hear her. "Juliet "I don't need an understudy" _fucking_ Watson. We're not going to have an Ariel in at least, uh, two hours, and doors open in, oh . . ." Steph checked her phone. "Thirty minutes! There's going to be at least one Ariel scene before she can be ready, dammit."

Steph was undoing all of her cool from her conversation with Rachel, and she knew it, but right now she was Stage Manager Steph Gingrich, not Lonely Lesbian Steph Gingrich, and she had desperately little time to figure this out.

"Well . . . shit," was all Rachel replied with, and Steph nodded in agreement.

On the desk, Rachel's phone buzzed. She checked it, quickly typed out a message, and then went to set it down. However, she paused a second before putting it down, a distant, thinking look in her eyes, staring into the mirror but not back at herself or Steph.

She pivoted, and like a spark dropped into gasoline, Rachel's eyes were ablaze with sudden, almost manic energy. She started talking fast and kind of loud and asked, "Steph do you trust me?"

"Y-yeah? Why?" Steph replied nervously as Rachel stepped closer, beaming.

Rachel said, "I've got a really bad, absolutely fucking genius idea, but I'm going to need your help talking her into it."

Steph had no idea how to possibly reply except with a bewildered, "Talk _who_ into _what_?"

And Rachel grinned the most conniving grin Steph had ever seen.

* * *

Chloe made a good Ariel. Her line delivery was unsteady, as if she struggled to grasp the tone of the scene or even any given line, but considering she'd only had about thirty minutes after costume change to learn her lines, her acting may as well have been a fucking miracle, because she nailed every single one verbatim. Steph could barely believe that it had taken Hayden, who she considered to be one of the better actors on the cast, until dress rehearsal to go the full play without missing any lines, but Chloe only took as long as it took her to _read_ them. She hadn't even been reading out loud! When Rachel mentioned that Chloe was a genius, she thought she was just talking her up for Mr. Keaton, not that she was an actual fucking genius!

The scene between Ariel and Prospera was coming to a close, but Steph had not let out her sigh of relief just yet. You can't be certain a scene has gone well until the actors have left the stage and the next scene has started smoothly. But at least no one was going to call this play a failure because there had been no Ariel to perform lines.

"Is there more toil?" Ariel huffed. "Let me remember thee what thou hast promised," she replied bitterly, dropping her hands in frustration. The timing was off, but the gesture was still good.

Shocked, offended, Prospera glanced first to the audience and asked, "How now?" Slowly, her gaze cut through the audience, then, sharp as a knife, it landed on Ariel. "What is 't thou canst demand?" Her gaze softened as she looked back over the audience.

Ariel took a deep breath. "My . . . liberty," she said, pained, taking a step back, as if ashamed.

Mr. Keaton gasped, "Indeed!," exhilarated by every gesture Chloe performed right without ever being taught.

When Prospera spoke again, it was the closest she'd come during the whole scene to facing straight at Ariel, as if to ignore the audience. She sounded cold, arrogant. "Thy . . . liberty?" She rolled her eyes - her whole head, really - dramatically. Then, quite unexpectedly, she cried, "Nay! This most of all I will not grant." She shook her head a little, disappointed.

The look of shock that dawned on Chloe's face was matched on Steph's, who became consumed by horror in an instant. Rachel never fucked up her lines. She never, ever fucked up her lines. This wasn't a fuck-up. She was going off-script. And Rachel only ever went off-script when she thought she knew how to make something better, so she probably wasn't about to stop.

Mr. Keaton's sharp intake of breath came only a second later as he realized the same thing, but his attention became rapt, making no moves to try and prompt Chloe as she looked about for any sign as to what she was supposed to do.

Ariel looked nervous, and spoke even more slowly now, but it didn't break character. She said, "But . . . thou assured my freedom . . . didn't thou?"

Apparently, no matter how good she was with lines, Chloe couldn't keep Old English pronouns straight. Probably no one in the audience could either, though.

Prospera's voice softened. "I never said how dearly I hold thee; my habit's been to keep my soul well-draped." She paused, and continued, "Most loyal spirit, companion, and friend -" she grew louder, almost shouting, "Is acting in my service not replete with excitement, amusement, and delight?!"

They were transfixed - Mr. Keaton, Steph, even Ariel.

As Prospera stepped closer, the confusion and frustration dropped from Ariel's voice and she replied, "Of course, mistress . . ." and then, a stage whisper: "most truly it is so."

Steph hadn't even noticed Nathan standing behind her, trying to keep an eye on the stage. When she spoke up, he sounded pissed: "Mr. Keat, they're way off script!"

Mr. Keaton shushed him without even looking and said, "It's magical," filled with reverence.

And Steph, although something horrible was twisting inside her, agreed.

"Then why, I pray you, wish you to be free?"

Ariel was trembling. She couldn't bear to look Prospera in the eye, her head ducked down so far in shame that it was the eyes of the jeweled raven on her head that matched Prospera's instead.

Ariel said, "Excitement's . . . a mere . . . counterfeit of bliss." She found some resolve in these words, because she looked up now frantic, exasperated. "These storms, and these adventures? I prefer to know . . . thou still cared for my . . . plainest self."

 _Oh._

Prospera slammed her staff on the stage and waved her hand over the stage. "I have thee in my grasp;" she replied coldly, "I will not bend."

Gradually, as she continued, the stage, the play entirely felt like it was melting away, and Steph couldn't tell if she was looking at Prospera and Ariel . . . or Rachel and Chloe.

Prospera said, "I will not see you flying forth alone! The envy would be more than I could bear."

Ariel grimaced, like she was biting back tears. Like Chloe had learned how to act in the past ten seconds or . . . like this was real.

She said, "So come with me! Is that not in thy power?"

"Spirit," Prospera said, commanding, "take my hands."

Nathan, Keaton, Steph, probably the audience as well - they held their breath as Prospera dropped to her knees, slowly offering up her hands in supplication.

As Ariel took her hands, Prospera said, "Most faithful friend . . ." as if she too could feel the awe of what was happening here.

She continued, "For but a little longer I beseech: continue in thy service to my schemes. And when they are complete, I swear to thee: we shall fly beyond this isle - the corners of the world our mere prologue. I'll seek to make even thy happiness so great that e'en the name of liberty's forgot."

Steph was crying, but not for the same reasons as Mr. Keaton beside her.

Ariel once again could not look Prospera in the eye, but neither could she duck her head to avoid her - she looked out towards the audience.

Prospera asked, "What sayest thou to my most hopeful wish?"

And their eyes locked. Ariel's eyes were wide and afraid, and there was so much in that look that Steph wanted to appreciate for how well this scene was going, for what a good Ariel they had found, but that was not what she could see at all. All she saw was Chloe, and the face of a girl falling in love.

From somewhere distant in the audience, there was a cry: "Say yes!"

And a grin crossed Ariel's face, like nothing Steph had ever seen her wear before. "Yes," she replied.

"I am most pleased," Prospera said as she rose to her feet. "Your duty, done for now. So go forth hence with haste! I've work to do."

Ariel looked startled that the play was back on track, but Prospera's gaze guided her along the path she needed to take for stage exit, and soon she was back stage, Steph and Mr. Keaton stepping apart so she could walk through.

"You crushed it!" Juliet half-whispered, half-yelled as she emerged from back stage. She looked absolutely gleeful. "Sooo good!" She pulled Chloe into a crushing hug that Chloe absolutely didn't reciprocate, probably too stunned to even realize she was being spoken to or touched.

Steph turned away, towards the curtains so that no one could see her wiping tears off of her cheeks.

"You're a born thespian, my dear," Mr. Keaton praised her. "I'll be chasing you down next year. And the ending! Absolutely transformative. I am humbled."

"Thanks," Chloe replied awkwardly, then turned to go.

She paused before she did so, as if she just noticed Steph was there. "Steph, are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," she replied, turning to face Chloe, her face hardening like plastic to keep anything from showing. "I'm fine. You did great."

This time at least, Chloe gave a weak smile. "Thanks." Her eyes slid away from Steph, back towards the stage where Prospera was monologuing, and Steph couldn't bear to watch the look on her face any longer.


	2. Rachel has Two Hands (and so does Chloe)

By the time the cast party had officially started, Steph was sure she had it figured out. She was also sure she could explain why she was totally okay with what happened and how genuinely beautiful the performance had been. She'd just talk to Rachel sometime during the party and say that she and Chloe would make a beautiful couple and even though Steph liked her, she wasn't going to toss away a friendship out of jealousy. Queer girls have to stick together. They can't afford to burn bridges just because someone fell for someone else, else they would all become islands, as alone as Arcadia Bay on the coast of Oregon.

The cast party was at Hayden's house because it was the biggest and his family was already used to the Vortex Club using it from when his older brother had been a member. Everyone was split up into their little cliques, like Nathan, Victoria, and their friend Taylor on the stairs after returning from smoking weed in the bathroom, or Steph, Dana, Juliet, and Hayden hanging out on the couch and piano bench. Hayden's mom apparently had the biggest goddamn grand piano Steph had ever seen outside of an orchestral hall, which immediately explained a lot of things about him. Rachel was supposed to get dropped off by her parents, so she was running a little late, and the crew kids like Brooke and Luke mostly kept to themselves, so it felt kind of weak for a cast party.

Dana got a text and checked her phone. A second later, she asked out, "Hey, Hayden - Rachel's walking here with Chloe, is that cool?"

 _What?!_

"Uhhh yeah, totally. Do they need a pick-up?"

"I dunno, let me check."

Rachel sent texts faster than Steph could talk, so only a few seconds later Dana called, "Nope, they're almost here."

 _Oh shit_.

Steph had been mentally preparing this whole time to talk to Rachel because Rachel would already be hanging out with her. But the prospect of pulling her away from Chloe to have the conversation about how totally cool she was with them getting together was on a whole new level. Steph considered herself a pretty tough cookie - stoic, even, when she had to be - but she could only make so strong a face in so little time. She wasn't ready. She wasn't ready to hear why Rachel chose Chloe over her.

"Wow, the fire's getting pretty crazy," said Taylor from the hall. "The air quality outside is getting really bad, and containment's dropped to 10 percent. Apparently we're advised to stay in-doors until air quality improves? Crazy."

 _No. No no no this cannot be happening._ Steph wanted to leap to her feet and flee, just walk home in the dead of night, but she knew no one here would let her - walking outside while ash rained from the sky was a stupid idea and she knew it. She was going to be stuck here until morning with Rachel like she had planned to be. Unless. Unless.

Steph stood up and said, "Hey, uh, Hayden, I kind of . . . feel sick. And with the fire, I don't think I should walk home . . . do you think you could give me a ride?"

He sat there and blinked for a few seconds, looking Steph up and down, probably picking up that she looked perfectly fine.

Still, Hayden was a cool dude. Finally, he shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess."

* * *

 **Rachel:** i didnt see you last night.

 **Rachel:** hayden said you were sick  
 **Rachel:** how are you feeling?

 **Rachel:** steph?

 **Rachel:** i'll see you at the showing tonight, OK? i want to talk to you.

 **Rachel:** you ran off again  
 **Rachel:** are you mad at me?

 **Steph:** I'm not mad

It was midnight, Saturday night giving way to Sunday, and they had two shows to run the next day. Steph didn't have time to stay up tonight, but once she was back in her bed again, in the dark, alone, she had started crying. She absolutely hated how upset she was. She had absolutely no fucking right to be ignoring Rachel. This was exactly the sort of behavior that could devastate her hopes for a small circle of queer friends - being jealous and petty and slinking away into the night to be alone.

She had just been caught off guard. She had gotten her hopes up, sitting alone and flirting with Rachel in the dressing room. She had taken Rachel's fun and flirtation as an indicator of her feelings, when she _knew_ that was just how she acted. She liked that about Rachel. She liked the way she could charm and dazzle her way through anything, how she always picked herself back up when she started feeling insecure, how she could make anyone feel special.

 **Rachel:** are you avoiding me?

 **Steph:** Yeah. I haven't known what to say to you, and I still don't.

 **Rachel:** did i do something wrong?

 **Steph:** no, it's nothing like that.

 **Rachel:** do you want to be left alone?

Steph didn't answer that, which proved to be enough of an answer by itself.

* * *

The Culmination Fire died suddenly in the night, and by the time Steph left for the school the next day, the air quality was almost back to normal. At the very least, Steph didn't have to come on stage and announce that audience members with asthma or other breathing difficulties would be given tickets for next week or full refunds if they wanted to leave. Steph kept herself busy constantly, and for most of the day she felt normal, no time to think of Rachel when Prospera was the one needing attention. They were never alone long enough to have a conversation that wasn't immediately about the play, and Steph biked off by herself during lunch time.

And that is how, on this ashy-gray Sunday afternoon, Steph ended up getting her lunch at the Two Whales diner only seconds before Chloe Price walked through the door.

Steph anticipated dread when she ran into Chloe again, but to her surprise, it didn't feel any different than the other few times they'd seen each other on campus.

"Hey Steph, what's up?" Chloe asked, sliding into the other side of the booth as if they'd planned to meet up. "Heard your cast's been crushing it."

Steph smirked. "Oh, they have. Maybe not _quite_ as hard as Friday, but our troupe isn't slouching. _The Tempest_ 's script, on the other hand . . ."

"Pff, yeah, that thing is, uh, and don't tell the Bard I said this but, it's kind of a mess."

Chloe had dyed her hair since they talked on Friday - just a streak of blue among the blonde, like Rachel's feather earring. It looked goofy, but cute. She'd come in wearing a beanie but dropped it on the table, making them look a little less like the lead members of an alternative girl band together, if not by much.

Steph quirked her eyebrows, bemused. "This - coming from the girl who learned like a dozen lines in a few minutes and improv'd her way into the _Beacon_ and _Totem_? You sure seemed to jive with the mess."

Chloe leaned back in the booth, pleased at the praise. "I guess it's just in my nature to surprise people. For instance, Principal Wells? Not the happiest dude when it turned out I was reppin' Blackwell on the front page the same day he kicked me out. The message he left my Mom was . . ." she pressed her fingers close to her lips as if she were holding a joint and inhaled, then let out a dreamy sigh. "Epic. Totally worth the expulsion."

Steph snickered, taking a bite of her food. Chloe's eyes very obviously followed her hands down to her plate, begging for fries without asking for them.

Steph took the hint and said, "Here, how about as a thank-you for saving my ass, I buy you lunch?

"Deal," Chloe replied without hesitation. Grinning, she leaned back forward in her seat and stuck her hand out of the booth. "Yo, Mom!" she called.

One of the waitresses, a middle-aged blonde woman with the red-purple bags under the eyes of an insomniac, approached the table with an already-irritated, "Yes, Chloe?"

Chloe gestured across the table. "This lovely lady would like to treat me to lunch, for which I'll have chicken tenders, please."

The waitress - Joyce, her name tag said - put her hands on her hips and turned to Steph. "Now, is my daughter extorting you or is these chicken tenders given of your own free will?"

Steph held her hands up, as if surrendering. "Hey, Chloe deserves a lunch for saving _The Tempest._ I don't suppose you got a chance to see her in action?"

" _I_ didn't even know she could act," Joyce replied with a scathing look, Chloe smiling back innocently. "But I'm glad she helped out. Maybe that'll make Mr. Wells think twice about his decision to expel her."

She sighed wearily, then said, "But chicken tenders, got it. It's nice to meet you . . .?"

"Steph. Stephanie Gingrich. It's nice to meet you too."

"Hello Stephanie, I'm Joyce. And I'll be right back."

As Joyce walked away, Chloe's attention rounded back to Steph. There were a few seconds of pause while Steph glanced around the diner, but Chloe brought her back with a sudden, "So, how did things go with Rachel?" Steph's blood ran cold. "Did you shoot your shot or what?"

"A-are you serious?" Steph asked, dumbfounded.

 _Is she insensitive as hell or just stupid? What?_

Chloe blinked, surprised. "Uuhh?" she asked, sitting forward in her seat again. "I mean, yeah . . . you made it seem like you were really itching to do it, so I figured you would this weekend . . . while you've been around her so much."

Steph had a growing suspicion she had made a terrible mistake. "Aren't you . . . dating her?"

Now Chloe looked even more confused. "What? No . . . didn't we already have this conversation on Friday?"

"But . . ." Steph tried to pull all the disparate details, all the things that absolutely confirmed to her that they had been dating. "But, the play. That improv wasn't just in-character, that was you two talking. It was, like - fuck dude, it was seriously romantic. And then you two walked to the cast party together, like . . . like . . ."

Steph faltered as Chloe's face changed from 'I'm confused' to 'Are you an idiot?' Steph had watched Chloe give that face to almost everyone, but she hadn't ever had it directed at her. It was just a look, but it stung.

Chloe glanced down at the table for a second, clearing her expression, then back up at Steph. "Dude, what? That wasn't Rachel asking me out, that was her offering to run away with me."

 _What._

"Why . . . what?"

Chloe said, "Look, I don't really want to get into details or anything, but things have been . . . shit for me at home recently. For Rachel, too. I ran away from home for a few days and her family kind of took me in. That's why I was wearing, like, that jacket that was three sizes too small, and why I needed to go to the dorms. We walked to the party together to talk about running away but we didn't, like, _do it._ Running was only going to make our problems worse."

"I . . ."

 _Fuck!_

Steph pushed her plate into the center of the table so she could just drop her face straight onto the table. "I'm so fucking stupid!" she groaned. She hit her head once more in agitation. When she looked up, it all came out in a rush: "I thought you were wearing her jacket because you like, stayed the night. Like, _stayed the night_ not had a fucking sleepover. And the whole improvised bit looked and sounded so much like a proposal it was like you two were about ready to just, start a life together or something. I - fuck!" Steph clutched the sides of her head. "I'm dumb! And I've been avoiding Rachel all weekend because of it!"

Chloe looked overwhelmed and doe-eyed, but all that came out of her mouth was a scoff: "Dude, what?"

Steph didn't have an immediate answer, and before she could think of anything to say, Joyce swooped in and dropped a basket of chicken tenders in front of Chloe. It distracted Chloe long enough for her to say, "Oh, hey, can I get barbecue and ranch, please?"

Her mother rolled her eyes and said, "I'll be right back," before continuing her loop around the diner.

Chloe took a minute to shove some fries in her mouth before remembering that they were having a conversation. She wiped her fingers on a napkin and said, "Alright, Steph, so. After Friday I was under the impression you were like, really good at communication and stuff, but it looks like you totally over-thought this into a problem that didn't need to be a problem. Even if our scene was like, kind of romantic or whatever, and even if she does like me back at all, it still seems like you should talk to her about it instead of . . . whatever you've been doing."

Chloe gave an abashed smile that quickly disappeared. "Weird advice, coming from me, I know, but seriously."

Steph's head was still cradled in her hands, but at least she was looking across the table instead of actively self-destructing. "So you do like her?" she asked.

"I'm only human," Chloe replied with a shrug and another fleeting smile. "But right now, I think she needs a friend more than . . . something else. From me, at least."

Steph shook her head. "I may be an idiot, but if you think she just wants to be your friend, so are you."

"I know," Chloe replied, like an admission of guilt.

Chloe turned to her food, and Steph took a minute to herself, to self-flagellate over how badly she'd fucked up and how it would be no wonder if Rachel's interest in her vanished like Steph had vanished on her. Whether or not Rachel would ever return her feelings, though, wasn't the point anymore. She had a friendship to salvage.

 **Steph:** hey Rachel. I ran into Chloe during my lunch and I realized I totally blew it. After the play Friday night I thought you two were together and I thought you were just going to explain why you'd decided to go out with Chloe. I made everything in my head a way bigger deal than it was and I've been acting like a dick. I got so caught up in my version of what was going on I didn't even try to talk to you and that was so, so stupid, and I'm really sorry. I don't know how you feel about me or Chloe, but I know I really want to be your friend and be supportive.

Rachel texted back less than a minute later.

 **Rachel:** steph, you are deep down kind of an idiot. but i get it.  
 **Rachel:** im with my mom right now and its not a great time to talk but can we please talk later?

 **Steph:** yeah, of course. I'll see you at the next show.

Steph sighed as she put her phone away.

"Wha'she say?" Chloe asked through a mouthful of food.

"Just that she wants to talk," Steph replied, leaning back in her seat, now resigned.

Chloe swallowed her food so she could talk properly and said, "Well, that doesn't sound like you've totally screwed the pooch. Maybe there's hope for you yet."

Steph shrugged, then said, "Well . . . thanks Chloe. For the heads-up. This could have gone worse, amazingly."

"No problem," she said, waving away the thanks. "I make a great supporting character."

Steph and Chloe both snorted.

After a short pause, Chloe said, "Hey, wait, don't you have to be back at the school like . . . now? The next show starts at 4:00, right?"

"WHAT?!"

Steph pulled out her phone and checked the time. Sure enough, it was 3:20, and she was supposed to have been back at the school five minutes ago at the latest.

"OhmyfuckinggodyouhavetobekiddingmehowamIthisbigofanidiotI'lldie-"

"Steph, yo, chill," Chloe interrupted. "Just get the check and I'll give you a ride."

Steph stared at Chloe with anxious befuddlement. "Since when . . . do you have a car?" Steph had literally seen Chloe get dropped off at school on Friday.

Chloe shrugged. "I kind of fixed up an old junker yesterday; it's mine now. You've had your tetanus shot, right?"

Steph didn't like the sound of that question.

* * *

The conversation with Rachel was much more 'Rachel talking about what was going on with her' than Steph had anticipated, and very little on why she was turning Steph down. As soon as they got into things, though, Steph just felt embarrassed and ashamed for putting another thing on her when she already had so much going on. She had just found out her mom wasn't her biological mother a few days ago, and that her father withheld her mother's e-mails and letters because she abandoned her as a toddler. She had been a heroin addict during the 1990s opioid epidemic, and although she had assured and re-assured Rachel's dad for years that she was clean now, she had respected his wishes to keep her away from Rachel. That was, at least, until this past week.

When Steph had asked her about the whole 'running away with Chloe thing', she talked about how she and Chloe met for the first time on Tuesday, about Chloe's mom's boyfriend moving in against her wishes, and how Rachel had asked her parents to take Chloe in for a while. How they only treated her nicely until she revealed she knew about Rachel's bio mom, and how Rachel's dad flipped on her and treated her like a street rat. Rachel nervously confessed how she had found Chloe, and Chloe had found her just in time for their lives to fall apart, and for them to be there for each other when they did.

Steph had been so caught up in her own life, and all the stuff going on with Mikey and Drew and their dad, it hadn't occurred to her how much could be going on outside of what she could see. She always felt like she could see things more clearly than other people, could see how pieces fit together - it was why she made a good stage manager, why she was a good artist. But there were some things she couldn't just piece together from context.

Rachel said she wasn't ready for a relationship right now, and Steph admitted she wasn't ready to date Rachel, that she didn't know her well enough to make a good girlfriend. They agreed they wanted to get to know each other better, and hugged each other tight, and that was it for a while.

Once _The Tempest_ was over, Steph thought she'd have more free time to spend with Rachel, but as classes began to ramp up into finals and Rachel spent more lunches and weekends off with Chloe, they saw each other less for a while. At first that made her sad, but Rachel kept coming back happier, shining brighter than she did before.

Chloe and Steph started to hang out more, too. Chloe's de facto step father, David, proved to be an anthropomorphized kick in the pants, nevermind one of the most pro-authority bootlickers Steph ever had the displeasure of meeting, so Chloe showed up more and more at Blackwell to pick Steph up from the dorms and go for a drive.

Somewhere down the line from watching _Bladerunner_ together and shitting on dudes from 4chan, the two of them realized their mutual love for cyberpunk and deep disdain for most men who professed to like cyberpunk. Mikey and Drew were _not_ those men, though, so sometime in the middle of May the four of them started up a game of _Shadowrun_ after bidding farewell to Calimastia and Elamon. After Chloe's ork street samurai, Mikey's elf mage, and Drew's human decker pulled off their first run, Chloe and Steph managed to peer pressure Rachel into joining as well. She showed up with a dryad shaman and, to no one's surprise, she and Chloe quickly dominated the roleplaying part of the game, although with very different angles (re: their characters were like, super mean to each other).

And this is how, the game night after school let out for the summer, Steph, Chloe, and Rachel ended up bringing backpacks full of homework to the fire ring next to Arcadia Bay's light house. There they drank beer Rachel managed to flirt into her possession and lit the past year on fire, cursing it and all of the shit it had brought them. They all drank too much and Chloe needed an hour or two to be sober enough to drive, so they ended up sitting on the beach, watching the waves roll in and out and the moonlight glimmer over the restless ocean. Chloe, as she often did after drinking, opened up a little, talked about her old friend Max, who had loved pirates and photographs, the girl she'd thought would become her high school sweet heart and marry, but they'd never even kissed and then she fucking left. And she turned petty to keep from turning sad and said how annoying it was that she'd never kissed a girl, didn't even know what it was like.

"It's easy," Steph told her, and held the side of her face as she kissed her.

Chloe was too stunned to even kiss back at first, but she got on her knees and turned so they could face each other properly, and the kiss was rough and they were a little drunk but it was warm and good. It was cute - Rachel even gave a little 'aww' - until Chloe's hand dropped high up on Steph's thigh and she squeezed and Steph moaned into their kiss.

Eventually, Rachel said, "Um, guys?" and they realized what they were doing, and Chloe laughed but Steph was crimson, invisible though it might be in the night.

Steph got dropped off at home first and tried her best to be quiet, but Meiser wouldn't stop barking after she got through the door and she had to shush him and feed him until he went back to bed. She fell asleep still half-clothed and exhausted, but woke up for the first time at 5:30am to a new text message from Rachel.

 **Rachel:** hey, steph? chloe and i kind of just had sex and im having a lot of confusing feelings.  
 **Rachel:** but i want to talk to both of you tomorrow, or this weekend at least  
 **Rachel:** i like you and i just want a chance to talk to you both before this one thing makes a decision for me

Steph was jealous, of course. Insanely jealous. Rabidly jealous. But she was more sleepy than even that, so she fell back asleep without sending a reply.

She didn't wake up again until almost 1:00pm, and by then she had several more messages.

 **Rachel:** just lmk when youre up and OK to talk?  
 **Rachel:** i hope youre not mad at me

And from Chloe.

 **Chloe:** Hey dude i'm really sorry if i kinda... escalated that kissing situation last night esp. when we were drunk.

Steph decided it was best to hold off replying until she'd had breakfast and coffee. Thus, it was almost 2:00pm when she texted them both.

 **Steph:** heya Chloe. it's honestly okay. i liked it, but we don't need to make a thing of it, it was just nice.

 **Steph:** hey Rachel. idk what type of conversation you're looking to have, but last night was weird and i'm not mad. i'm jealous, for sure, but, like, who you have sex with is none of my business.

Whatever else happened, she wasn't going to let this blow up her friendships. She'd been steeling herself against the possibility of Rachel and Chloe getting together this whole time, and she wasn't going to freak out again if that's how today ended. These friendships were new, but they mattered to her, and she'd fight for them.

* * *

Chloe showed up at Steph's house first, to her surprise, so they hung out downstairs and absolutely did not talk about what was son their minds. Instead, they played _Super Smash Brothers_ and waited, even holding back on the smack talk because they were both fragile at the moment and they knew it. Even when Rachel finally arrived, they just switched to _Mario Kart Wii_ and continued to avoid the conversation for a good hour.

Eventually, though, Rachel would not let this stand any further.

After they finished their third 150cc cup, Rachel set her controller down and said, "Guys? We need to talk."

Steph winced. Even if that was the reason why they were here, those were precisely the words she didn't want to hear. Nonetheless, she shut off the Wii and TV. Rachel patted the ground in front of her, and Chloe slipped from Steph's couch to the ground beside her. Steph followed suit, crossing her legs then dropping into her self-made seat.

 _How do you even start a conversation like this?_

Rachel took a deep breath. "First, I just want to acknowledge that we were drinking last night, and things got a little messy and I may have things kind of askew in my head. But the thing is, on my end at least . . . I liked how last night went."

Chloe glanced between them. Her jaw was set and tense, like she was grinding her teeth, her brow furrowed. She asked, "What are you . . . referring to?"

Rachel brushed her hair behind her ear. "Well, um. I told Steph that we . . . were together last night. And I liked that. But I liked all of it. Like, when you two kissed," she tapped her finger-tips together, as if to mimic their kiss, "- that was pretty nice. And just. The whole thing."

"I thought that made you really uncomfortable?" Steph asked, puzzled.

Rachel shook her head. "No, not, uh, exactly. I thought it was cool, I just . . . maybe liked it _too_ much and I thought that might go weird places."

It took a few seconds to Rachel's meaning to sink it, but it clicked into place with an, "Oh," from Steph.

Rachel started speaking faster now, "Yeah, and I liked it but I also felt pretty jealous because I'd never kissed either of you and that _did_ go kind of weird places," she gave Chloe a pointed glance, but Chloe clearly didn't know how to emote in response.

Visibly uncomfortable, Chloe asked, "Rachel . . . what are you trying to say?"

Rachel put her head in her hands and rocked back and forth for a few seconds, collecting her thoughts. Then she said, "Look, I know that I like both of you. I've known that the whole time, I just . . . I thought I had to decide who I _really_ like or I was going to fuck everything up. But I think going about things that way is where I'm fucking up. I think I just have to tell you both that _I like you_ and I want to know if that is a thing that could be okay with you."

Steph blinked, another piece of the puzzle clicking into place. "Wait, are you saying you want to date Chloe _and_ me?"

Rachel nodded vigorously, visibly relieved that Steph had put it into words. "I do. I know we've only been hanging out together for a few weeks but I really like this. I'd just like to . . . add some stuff. Like. Kissing and having sex . . . please."

Steph was dumbstruck. She wasn't repulsed or anything, she just had absolutely not expected the conversation to go this place and had not been prepared in the slightest. She hadn't even pictured this as a possibility. She wasn't even sure it _was_ a possibility. How do you date two people concurrently?

Chloe raised her hand as she were in a classroom, and Rachel nodded at her. Chloe said, "Yeah, well, if Steph's into it, I am. I like you - you know that. I'm willing to talk about it, at least."

 _How is it that easy for her? What?_

Rachel's attention turned back to Steph, and she made her nervous hair-brush tic again. "Steph?"

"I . . . I have no idea," Steph said, making a huge shrug. "I don't know what this would look like. Dates, hangouts, holidays - what would any of it look like? And what would Chloe and I be to each other then?"

"I dunno, friends?" Rachel said, shrugging in response. "Or . . . you could also . . ." she made another gesture like she had for their kiss, but more tentatively. She was blushing bright red, somehow more embarrassed about whatever she was trying to say now than all the bold stuff she'd already said.

"Also?" Steph asked. "Kiss? Or . . . date?" She grew increasingly perplexed with each question.

Rachel nodded again, tiny, nervous nods. Steph didn't think she'd ever seen her this meek about something, and knew she was stumbling into something Rachel wanted, but didn't know how to say.

Steph started to get caught in the same bog of embarrassment as Rachel. "I don't . . . think Chloe would be into dat-" but something about the way Chloe was looking at her gave her pause, and silence reigned for a moment.

"D-do you?" Steph finally stuttered out.

Chloe scratched the back of her head and replied, quiet, her voice mostly vocal fry: "I'd be down . . . if you are." When Steph just blinked at her, Chloe continued, more confidently, "You're like, really dorky and cute and hot, dude. Why do you think I was so into our kiss last night?"

"Because . . . because . . . we were drunk and . . ." Steph blinked dumbly for a few seconds, then just dropped onto her back. "BECAUSE I'M DUMB, OKAY?"

Today was too much. This whole conversation was entirely too much.

Eventually, from the floor Steph said, "Look, okay, yes. I like you both differently but I know if you asked separately I'd totally say yes. But is there like, a manual, or . . . something? I don't know what to do with the idea of two girlfriends."

"Actually," Rachel said with a self-conscious chuckle, "I kind of . . . was looking it up on my phone in the middle of the night, and there's like, a whole relationship-help genre for polyamorous people, and I was thinking if you two said 'yes' we could maybe buy some and read them together?"

Steph let out the longest sigh and then, "You're serious, aren't you?"

Rachel said, "I am."

"Chloe?"

"Hm?"

"I don't have a lot of date ideas yet, but if you're going to be sleeping over as often as you have been, we should . . . do that."

"Works for me."

Rachel scooted into Steph's field of view, raising up a finger for attention. She asked, "Steph?

"Yeah?"

"You and I are the only ones who haven't kissed yet. Would you mind if we did?"

Everything was already so crazy. And if there was any part of this that would make all the crazy feel worthwhile . . . maybe that was it. "Sure," she said. "Like, yes."

And Rachel leaned over and kissed her gently, sweetly, her curtain of hair falling over the both of them, blotting out everything but that long, lovely kiss.

When it ended, Rachel whispered, "Girlfriends?"

"Girlfriends," Steph whispered back, her voice filled with wonder.


End file.
